Archive for April, 2010

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Business Social Networking: 10 Tips for Using Twitter for Business

Friday, April 30th, 2010

As social media grows and changes, it can be confusing to know the best tactics for business social networking. What worked yesterday doesn’t always work today, and using social networking like Twitter for business is much different from personal use. Here are 10 do’s and don’ts from Mashable.com on how to use Twitter for business.

  1. Don’t Be a Showoff. Post only info you think your clients/customers will be interested in, as opposed to lots of self-promotion.
  2. Don’t Use Poor Grammar or Spelling. Using “u”, “r”, and “lol” might be fine for teens or casual users, but it looks unprofessional for business. Yes, sometimes it’s tough to fit what you want to say in 140 characters, but this is where creative writing skills come in handy!
  3. Don’t Get Too Personal. Keep your tweets about things relating to your business, industry, brand, etc.
  4. Don’t Auto-Tweet. Setting up a stream of auto-tweets can make your Twitter feed come off as more robotic than personally engaging. You should also refrain from automatically DM-ing new followers, which can be considered spam.
  5. Don’t Leave Air in the Conversation. Don’t wait a day or two to respond to replies – generally users want a reply in a few hours.
  6. Don’t Overtweet. Tweeting too often will flood follower’s timelines, which can be annoying to them and also make your business come across as “shouting” at followers. Think about it – have you ever stopped following someone because they were bombarding you with tweets?
  7. Do Shout Out to Users Who Mention You. If someone mentions your brand with praise, give them a thank you. And if someone mentions your brand with a negative remark, handle it with tact if you choose to respond.
  8. Do Monitor Keywords and Competitors. Keeping an eye on competitors can help you win over new business. Did someone tweet about a problem they experienced with a competitor? You can respond to them and explain how your business can offer them a better solution. Also, answering questions people have about your industry can show you are responsive and knowledgeable.
  9. Do Make an Informative Profile. Be clear and informative about your business in your profile, and link them to the most informative page on your company’s website.
  10. Do Fish Where the Fish Are. Twitter is not for everyone. If your targeted demographic is one that is not likely to be on Twitter, it may not be productive to have an active account.

In addition to these rules, using common sense is always a good idea. You should generally avoid anything that makes you come across as unprofessional, or too cold and robotic. A good rule to go by is tweet others as you would want to be tweeted. Business social networking can be an important aspect of brand marketing and how your business will be seen by others.

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Posted in Business Social Networking, social media marketing | 1 Comment »

The Benefits of Using Social Media for Business

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

As social media continues to grow and change, businesses are finding different ways to use it for marketing purposes. Most businesses now have a Facebook or LinkedIn page, with a link to those pages on their own Website. However, just having a social media page isn’t enough – it’s what you do with it that will determine what kind of benefit you get from it.

allstate social media linksAllstate Insurance Company is a good example of effective social media marketing. On their landing page, they have links to various social media sites. The link for YouTube takes you to a page featuring Allstate videos, including “Science Storms” which Allstate helped sponsor at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. Other videos demonstrate how the company is committed to volunteering.
american express social media
American Express is another company that puts social media to good use. Their Twitter page is well advertised on their landing page, and once on Twitter, you see it’s where customers and prospects can swap stories and exchange information. It is about building a community, which is one of social media’s greatest assets.
Read the full article at B2BOnline.

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Posted in social media marketing | No Comments »

The Secret of Successful Link Building

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

one way link buildingCongratulations! You are the proud owner of a new Website for your business or non-profit group. Now what? Just because you spent thousands of dollars (sometimes) on creating this great looking, content rich Website doesn’t mean you will instantly garner the attention you want.
You need much more than just a Website to get traffic online, appear within the top pages of the search engines and make money or get sponsors. You need to have an ethical link building campaign. Content and one way links are the keys to success online.

Link building, you ask? Yes, link building. It’s like giving a free ticket to everyone to come visit your Website and purchase your products or services or get information. You want people to find you online, right? Ok, here are a few ways to get those links coming to you and their advantages, as suggested by the trusted folks at Search Engine Watch.

1. Link internally. Always start with your Website first. Have you seen Websites that have a phrase underlined or in bold that links to another page on their Website? Yes, those are called internal links. Search engines like those and it helps increase your page rank, for those who still think that this is valuable.
Here’s an example of a Website with internal link building: Jack Levy Sales

If you have any questions about our inventory of wholesale novelties merchandise and licensed products or are having difficulty placing an order for our novelties and gifts using the order cart, please call us. Remember, you can still fax, email or call in your order for wholesale novelties merchandise and licensed products if you prefer.

2. Submit to free search engine friendly link directories. This is where we differ in opinion with SEW. We see the increased value of link building and search results with continous submissions to link directories. It’s not a “field of dreams” with link building; you must do it every month and follow the stated guidelines. Don’t overdue it and be diligent. Assign someone else to do it for you if necessary, as long as they do it ethically. (See note at bottom regarding black/white hat tactics for link building.)


3. Paid and reciprocal links. Remember that free ticket I was talking about earlier? Well, paid links are like offering a ticket to people, except they have to pay for it or they have to give you a ticket in return to their store. The dilemna? Is that ticket (link) really that valuable and would you want to buy something from that other store? For example, if you are an automotive parts retailer and you want to have one page on your Website with links to all the business and car dealers that you sell to – that would be great because you are helping to promote those businesses as well. Of course you would want the favor returned by seeing a link to your Website on those businesses and car dealerships as well, but what if they don’t reciprocate? See my point? If you decide to do this, ensure these links are valuable to your industry and purpose and you get back what you put out there.

4. Get .Gov/.Edu extensions. According to Search Engine Watch, “these are the holy grail of links and have a massive impact on increasing Website rank.” Whew! If we only we could get more of these links, whether you’re endorsing a political candidate or you’re sponsoring a school, this would be a great way to see your site rise up in the ranks in the search engines. However, don’t do it if it goes against your moral convictions or political opinions.

5. Linking social media networks. If you have a Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, FriendFeed or any other social network that you use to market your business or non-profit (no personal accounts please), these are the goldmine in a link building campaign. Since most of these social networks are now indexed by the search engines, you have the Indy 500 of providing links to masses of people for free! Whether you share a bit.ly, ow.ly or long link to your Website or one of your inside pages, you have the potential of doing this on a daily or hourly basis! Just don’t overdo it with sales or junk, people will unfriend you and you’ll lose your reputation online. (Not what you want for link building successful)


6. Entice visitors – give them hook, line and sinker. Also referred to as link baiting, it’s a method of providing really great content, tools, a freebie, a coupon or something that has real value to your customers and visitors. It should be so great, that an audience would share it with others. Think of those billboard signs “Free coffee with fill up” or my favorite from Payless shoes, “BOGO” (buy one get one 1/2 off). Change your tactic often enough that people will bookmark your site and have a reason to come back.

7. Extra, Extra, Read All About Me! Newspaper readership may be diminishing, but news is not. Submit a press release to online PR sites such as PR Newswire or PR Web to generate more one way links. Creating a new Website is news, so is hosting an event or food drive or hiring a new employee. Always ensure your press release is newsworthy and useful. If done so with properly, press releases will be picked up by a variety of news sources across many regions and this will increase your link building strategy online.

**A note about black hat and white hat link building strategies. Remember the Wicked Witch of the West? She’s the black hat in link building. Just because you can do something easier, doesn’t mean it’s better in the realm of the search engines. And Glenda, the good witch, she’s the white hat in link building. Follow the rules, do it consistently and be ethical about how you do it and you’ll get a higher rank in Google and other search engines.**

What should you do now? Make a list of all the places you want to link to, develop a link building strategy, assign a team or SEO firm to help you with your link building campaign and get started!

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Posted in Link Building and Link Popularity | 8 Comments »

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